Gaming machines which provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (i.e., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Symbols or symbol combinations which are less likely to occur usually provide higher awards.
In such known gaming machines, the amount of the wager made on the base game by the player may vary. For instance, the gaming machine enables the player to wager a minimum number of credits, such as one credit (e.g., one penny, nickel, dime, quarter or dollar) up to a maximum number of credits, such as five credits. This wager may be made by the player a single time or multiple times in a single play of the primary game. For instance, a slot game has one or more paylines and the slot game enables the player to make a wager on each payline in a single play of the primary game. Slot games with 1, 3, 5, 9, 15 and 25 lines are widely commercially available. Thus, it is known that a gaming machine, such as a slot game, enables players to make wagers of substantially different amounts on each play of the primary or base game ranging, for example, from one credit up to 125 credits (e.g., five credits on each of 25 separate paylines). This is also true for other wagering games, such as video draw poker, where players can wager one or more credits on each hand and where multiple hands can be played simultaneously. It should be appreciated that different players play at substantially different wagering amounts or levels and at substantially different rates of play.
Secondary or bonus games are also known in gaming machines. These secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award to the player. Such bonus awards are accounted for when determining the overall paytable for the gaming machine. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Secondary or bonus games are often activated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary or base game of the gaming machine. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on a payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine triggers the secondary bonus game on that gaming device. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is the occurrence or triggering of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be). In other words, obtaining a bonus event and a bonus award in the bonus event is part of the enjoyment and excitement for players.
Certain known gaming machines offer the possibility of winning higher awards (such as a progressive award) when a player places a maximum bet or maximum wager. Other known gaming machines offer the possibility of winning a bonus event or bonus game when a player places a maximum bet or maximum wager. There is a need to develop new and different award opportunities associated with players placing a maximum bet or maximum wager.
Player tracking systems are also known. Player tracking systems enable gaming establishments to recognize the value of customer loyalty through identifying frequent customers and rewarding them for their patronage. The cumulative history of a particular player's gaming activity, which is included in a player profile, enables gaming establishments to target individual players with direct marketing promotions or customized compensation plans. In existing player tracking systems, a player is issued a player identification card which has an encoded player identification number that uniquely identifies the player. Player tracking on gaming machines, (such as slot machines) is typically accomplished with a card reader. When the player first sits down at a gaming machine, the player inserts the card into the card reader. The card reader reads the player identification number from the player tracking card and the gaming device communicates information through a network to a central computer regarding the player's subsequent gaming activity. Based on this communicated information or data, the gaming establishment classifies each player and provides one or more of such players certain benefits based on these classifications.
Historically, with stand-alone gaming machines, the gaming machine does not identify the player currently playing the game. The gaming machine sends the information read from the player tracking card to the player tracking system. The player tracking system then identifies the player and tracks their play. There is a need to further develop ways to configure gaming machines to provide players identified by the player tracking system with better gaming experiences.
Gaming establishment or casino loyalty programs are also well known. A casino loyalty programs works in conjunction with a player tracking system to offer incentives to players in exchange for the player's loyalty to and play history at the gaming establishment. Such loyalty incentives are often provided and funded by the gaming establishment's marketing department. These marketing department promotions are generally not accounted for in determining the overall paytable for the gaming machines; rather, they are funded by marketing dollars.
One known way to provide loyalty incentives to players is by offering promotional credits to be utilized for play of a primary wagering game. Such promotional credits are often offered as a one time event such as for a player signing up for a player tracking card. It is known that that providing promotional credits to a player is often preferable over providing non-promotional or cash credits to a player because known promotional credits are not immediately redeemable by a player for cash and must be played through a gaming machine. These promotional credits are typically redeemed by a player at the beginning of a play session; rather than at the end of a play session. These promotional offers are not made to players on a real-time basis based on the current play session or portions of the current play session.